Stacking cups and container for same



May 6, 1947. M. WILEY STACKING CUPS AND CONTAINER FOR SAME Filed Nov. 4, 1944 m N W H v INVENToR. Ef M. W/Df Patented May 6, 1947 UNITED .STATES PATENT OSF FAI-CE Lee lvl. `Wiley, Mariom vInd.,:assignor ofrone -half te Julian-T. LetnMarionyInd.

Application November 4, 1944, SeriallNo. 561379` l `The invention relates to 9. cup structure and associated stacking tube,

VOne chief object of this invention -is Ato provide a cup or container suitable for cup use or suitable for container use with an associated cover and in either 'case the lstructure has vno false bottom, etc., giving a rmisleading -visual indication of actual volume.

Another chief object of -this invention is to provide a cup or container that, 'when associated with others in stacked relation, requires an overall length for fifty 'of but fteen inches, whereas other stacking cups oflike volume ,require from twenty-two to `twenty-'sixinches of length, thereby -eiecting a saving of fromiabout one-half .to one-third in storage and transportation space and tube cost if .all cups costthesameand weigh the same.

A still further object of the invention is to :providea'oup which. will-stack A"Jfree for ldispensin'gholders, Athatistl'ie bottoms do not touch.

Anothe'robject of vthe invention is to provide a flared` sidewall. so that the `cup `can be rl-iel'dlin the 4hand 'without requiring `squeezing thereof, which, of course, whemtheleupis used 4for `hot drinks, such as collec, eliminates much of the heat transference to the hand.

Another object of the invention is to provide a solid top rim structure, which is of thickened character, giving greater strength than conventionally rolled edge cups.

A further feature of this invention is that this top thickness permits the formation of a much wider ledge or cover seat, which prevents the cover from being pressed beyond the cover seating groove and into the container contents when the cover is applied.

One chieffeature of the present invention resides in the peculiar shape of the cup whereby the severalobjects aforesaid are accomplished.

Another chief feature of the present invention resides in the liner support tube for the lowermost cup, whereby the body and bottom thereof are relieved of the weight of the other cups in the stack.

Other objects and features of the invention will be set forth hereinafter.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and claims:

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a central sectional View through the bottom of a stacking tube with the lowermost cup therein and an included support liner Fig. 2 is a central sectional view (enlarged ap- `2 proximately four times) of the nested intertting portions of two stacked cups.

Fig. 3 Yis a central sectional view of a portion of a'cupwitha cover appliedthereto.

-In Fig. y1 of the drawings A indicates a `stacking tube having closed end B of any suitable type. Within ythe same is a tubular liner support C, the bottom D Vof which may bear on end B if said support C is not otherwise secured to the tube A. The upper edge E Aof sleeve or liner C serves as -asupport for the lowermost cup Vof the stack and slightly spaces the 4bottom of that cup from the end B of the tube, 'as indicated 'at F. This takes the weight of the stack oi oi? `the sidewall and bottomsof thegbottom cup.` y

Reference Ywill now-'be had to Fig. '3, aswell as Fig. jl. In theformer the 'cup has a centrally einbossedfbcttom 'Ill terminating in `a peripheral bearing `portion -I i, which merges with an upwardly and Voutwardly directed sidewall i2. This wall is `slightly flared or concaved for hand grip purposes as shown in Fig. l. This embossing not onlystrengthens the bottom, but, as stated, provideslag` preformedgannular 1l'rearing il 'for cup Reference will now be had to Figs. 2 and 3. Herein the upper end of the `sidewall is enlarged laterally and outwardly as at I3, forming an outer lower shoulder I4. This enlarged portion is oiset laterally and outwardly as at I5, forming seat or shoulder I 6.

Portion I5 is then extended upwardly as at i'I and terminates in an inwardly rounded mouth IB that overhangs at I9 the seat I 6 in spaced 'relation thereto to form a cover seating groove 2U in which may be pressure seated cover 2| that when seated is retained by lock portion I9. All of the aforesaid are peripherally coextensive with the cup, which is annular in cross section, although obviously it 'may have any other desired cross section. L 1

When the cups are stacked, the several cup bottoms IU, even though of embossed character, do not engage each other. When stacked, the outer shoulder I4 of each inner cup bears or rests upon the inner seat I6 of the outer cup. When so nested and seated the several portions I1 are aligned.

3 1% inch. The depth of embossment may be 1% inch.

The bottom may have the thickness of .018 inch, the bottom of the sidewall .020 inch and the top adjacent shoulder I9 .040 inch, the sidewall obviously becoming thicker toward the mouth. The are has a radius of 5-- inches and in reality the sidewall is the resultant of two reverse curves of that radius, the upper portion being convex and the lower portion concave.

The overhang aforesaid is about .020 inch and the width of seat 16 is about .063 inch. 'Ihe width of shoulder I4 is about .032 inch. The projection 0f one cup above the other is approximately .242 inch. The distance from the mouth edge to shoulder I4 is about of an inch. Note that the thickened portion I3 of the inner cup just clears the overhang I9 of the outer cup.

The groove 20 is bead rolled into the cup, which is of pressure molded character and is seamless and of solid pulp.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in great detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character.

The several modifications described herein as well as others which will readily suggest themselves to persons skilled in this art, all are considered to be within the broad scope of the invention, reference being had to the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:

l. A plurality of bottom nestable cups capable of stacking relation, each supportable exteriorly and near the upper end thereof, each cup having a mouth at its uppermost upper end, an internal seat spaced therefrom and an external cup supporting shoulder spaced from the mouth slightly greater than the said seat but comparatively close together, the shoulder of the upper cup having appreciable facial bearing upon the seat of the lower cup, each cup adjacent the seat having an inwardly projecting overhang of a lesser internal diametric dimension than that of the seat and spaced therefrom to form a groove between the seat and mouth for cover reception, said inwardly projectingoverhang being further of greater internal diametric dimension than the external diametric dimension of the shoulder.

2. A plurality of bottom nestable cups capable of stacking relation, each supportable exteriorly and near the upper end thereof, each cup having a mouth at its uppermost upper end, an internal seat spaced therefrom and an external cup supporting shoulder spaced from the mouth slightly greater than the said seat but comparatively close together, the shoulder of the upper cup having appreciable facial bearing upon the seat of the lower cup, each cup adjacent the seat having an inwardly projecting overhang of lesser internal diametric dimension than the seat and spaced therefrom to form a groove between the seat and mouth for cover reception, said inwardly projecting overhang being further of greater internal diametric dimension than the external diametric dimension of the shoulder, each cup having a downwardly and inwardly directed sidewall of flared character for hand grip purposes, the flaring being of reverse curve type, the upper curve portion being convex externally and the lower curve portion being concave externally and the radii of curvature being of similar order, the length of the curved portions being approximately of the order as 1 to 2, respectively.

LEE M. WILEY.

REFERENCE S CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,142,567 Levy Jan. 3, 1939 795,437 Geuder July 25, 1905 1,128,216 Anderson Feb. 9, 1915 2,360,224 Hannaford Oct. 10, 1944 1,986,824 Keiding Jan. 8, 1935 2,089,674 Turnbull Aug. 10, 1937 

